At the end of the project it is expected that public awareness about the negative impact of Intellectual Property on access to medicines improved, community mobilization and actions to overcome IP related barriers to access to medicines increased and access to essential medicines in Latin America improved.

The program will address the negative impact of intellectual property rights (IPR) on access to HIV and HCV medicines. In Latin American countries, mostly middle-income countries (MICs), the negative impact of IPR will become increasingly important. As a current trend, MICs are the main countries not getting benefits from reduced prices decided by companies, as well as being excluded of international policy options for medicines under monopolistic situation. At the same time, LA countries are amongst the ones that have been providing access to ARVs for longest, and will need to switch to newer lines of treatment. The increased price of newer medicines has raised worries about the sustainability and continuance of access to medicines policies. The same is happening to the new medicines that are coming out to treat Hepatitis C. They are under patent protection and the discounted prices and voluntary licenses being negotiated by the multinationals companies that hold the patent right excludes MICs.

In Argentina the activities will focus on reducing patent barriers for the following ARVs and combinations: lopinavir/r; EFV+TDF+FTC; and TDF+FTC; in Brazil: lopinavir/r, atazanavir/r, darunavir, TAF, etravirine, raltegravir and dolutegravir; in Peru: atazanavir; in Colombia: lopinavir/r; in Mexico: EFV+TDF+FTC. In relation to HepC, the targeted medicine of our campaigns will initially be: sofosbuvir. It is also important to highlight that the proposal also aims at promoting structural changes in the IP laws, therefore impacting all medicines that under or subject to patent protection.